House Bill 368 and Senate Bill 195 (2024) as approved by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor, directed the Board of Housing and Community Development (the Board) to convene a workgroup to provide recommendations for allowing a single stair exit for Group R-2 (multifamily residential) structures up to six stories in height. The legislation required the Single-staircase Advisory Group (Advisory Group) to submit its findings and recommendations to the Board and General Assembly by December 1, 2024.

The Advisory Group’s efforts consisted of in-person discussion, written testimony, background research, and accepting in-person and written public comments. These efforts were part of a fact-finding exercise that sought to evaluate various considerations related to a potential proposal during the regular development of the Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC). The Advisory Group operated outside of the normal code development cycle, allowing it to focus on this singular topic in depth. The Advisory Group did not develop a model proposal to allow a single-stair exit in multifamily residential structures up to six stories, rather, it laid out the many considerations that may need to be taken into account if a proposal comes before the Board.

The Advisory Group recommends that any proposal to allow a single stair exit above current limits should be considered by the Board during the normal building code development process. The Advisory Group discussed a variety of considerations related to the health, safety, and welfare of occupants for future workgroups to deliberate in more detail. The Advisory Group presents these considerations as a big-picture overview of this issue and a summary of all the different factors that may arise when considering a single-stair exit proposal. The Advisory Group recommends the Board convene a special workgroup during the 2024 building code update cycle to continue discussing this topic, ICC code change proposal E24-24 as modified, and any related proposals.